PCL: Angels call up Wood, send Morales back to Bees

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Brandon Wood's quick ascent through Los Angeles' farm system continues, as the 22-year-old infielder will join the Angels, who optioned first baseman Kendry Morales to Triple-A Salt Lake. To make room on the active roster for Wood, outfielder Juan Rivera was transferred to the 60-day disabled list.

In 20 games with the Salt Lake Bees, Wood hit .278 with three home runs and 15 RBIs. In 2006, Wood played 118 games at Double-A Arkansas and hit .276 with 42 doubles, 25 home runs and 83 RBIs.

Rivera was originally placed on the 15-day disabled list with a broken lower left leg on March 31. He sustained the injury Dec. 22, in a collision at first base while playing Winter Ball in Venezuela for the Oriente Caribbeans. Surgery was performed on Dec. 27 with a rod inserted into the tibia and screws at the top and bottom of the fracture.

Pitcher Joe Saunders got breathing room early from his Bees teammates - jumping ahead 4-1 after three innings. Saunders remained on cruise control heading into the seventh, but the southpaw began to struggle and allowed two earned runs before being relieved by Greg Jones.

"It was a well pitched game by [Joe]. It was six strong innings," coach Brian Harper said. "[Saunders] didn't get hit real hard they were just able to put the ball in some spots."

Tied 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth and the Bees rallying, pinch hitter Kendry Morales' line-drive single to center field drove in Casey Smith from third base and secured the win.

Said Harper: "This team doesn't quit; getting behind against a good team like [Sacramento] . . . just shows that our team always battles. It was a solid team effort."

Saunders failed to get his third win of the season in the no decision - allowing three earned runs on seven hits.

"I don't think I ran out of gas. Some balls just fell in," Saunders said. "I threw some strikes and had a great defense playing behind me. We were able to come back and score some runs.

It was good."

Share This Article

USER COMMENTS

Reader comments on sltrib.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Salt Lake Tribune. We will delete comments containing obscenities, personal attacks and inappropriate or offensive remarks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. If you see an objectionable comment, please alert us by clicking the arrow on the upper right side of the comment and selecting "Flag comment as inappropriate". If you've recently registered with Disqus or aren't seeing your comments immediately, you may need to verify your email address. To do so, visit disqus.com/account. See more about comments here.